Happened to pass by Romona Keveza Couture today when reading an article about wedding gown and was caught by two of her wedding gowns showcase in the article (see below for the photos that caught my eyes!). For those who know me well probably know that I am someone who likes very simple yet unique things. Romona Keveza’s Collection and Legend by Romona Keveza have some wonderful dresses that excite me (other than my all-time favourite – Vera Wang). For viewing more of her designs, check out: http://www.romonakeveza.com/

If you have great sexy legs, why not show them off?! Who says wedding gown has to be white colour?

A while ago I offered to arrange the bridal bouquet, boutonnieres and corsages for my cousin’s wedding as my gift to him and his wife. Knowing that the theme colour of the day is purple, I have arranged a really nice bouquet with purple vanda orchid, purple hyacinth and off-white ranunculus for the bride and matching purple vanda orchid boutonniere for the groom. The wonderful scent of purple hyacinth has made the day merrier. For the corsages, I have arranged pink vanda orchid for the grandmas and parents as well as purple and off-white eustoma for the siblings. The happy couple greatly appreciated my assistance since they have no idea with regards to anything related to flowers.

Marrying couples all have different priorities when it comes to the allocation of money for their wedding. Some might not think flowers are important but some might put it as the first priority. There is no doubt that pretty flowers can add nice touch to a unique wedding simulating your eyes as well as your nose. With regards to usage of flowers in a wedding, decoration is the main part. Other than decoration, flowers play an important role in bridal bouquet, boutonnieres and corsages as well.

When choosing the flowers you want for your wedding, start with listing out the blooms you like and dislike. Then, you will need to consider the blooms you love / want according to the following factors:

– Will they match your wedding theme / mood?

– Are these flowers affordable?

– Are they in season at the time of your wedding?

– Are there any cultural concerns associated with the colour or the type of flowers (either in a good or in

a bad way)?

The next thing to do is to communicate what you have listed with your chosen florist. Also, you might want to discuss your expectations on the decoration and if there is any theme to your wedding. It is always a good idea to show some reference photos (either ones you gathered from magazines, websites or even weddings you have been to) for better communication and brainstorming between the florist and yourself. A professional florist should be able to provide you with sincere opinions and support.

Not sure which flowers to use for your wedding, stay tuned for the next posting when I reveal more about various pretty blooms that might be ideal for your wedding.

Following the 14 Feb, there is another celebration of LOVE. It’s the White Day (ホワイトデー, Howaito dē) which is celebrated in Japan, South Korea as well as Taiwan.

White Day was actually “created” by the National Confectionery Industry Association (全国飴菓子工業協同組合) in Japan back in 1978. It’s some marketing plan of the company for boosting sales. The original purpose is to act as an “echo” to Valentine’s Day where men would return gift to the women who gave them chocolate and other gifts on Valentine’s Day (in Japan, women are the ones to give chocolate to men which might be a bit different from other cultures). Since then, confectionery companies started to market white cholocate as the “return gift of choice”. But nowaways the return gifts can be edible and non-edible items such as jewelry or objects of sentimental value, or white-coloured clothing.

In my opinion, if you love someone any day can be Valentine’s Day or White Day =)

Today is 8th March and it is an important date for women around the world – International Women’s Day (IWD).

IWD is on the 8th of March every year and it is a day of global celebration of women. Throughout the years, women of different countries struggled for equality, justice, peace and development. IWD is the day where women in different regions enjoy general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women, to a celebration for women’s economic, political and social achievements.

On this day it is customary for men to give the women in their lives – mothers, wives, girlfriends, daughters, colleagues, etc – flowers and small gifts. In some countries, it is also observed as an equivalent of Mother’s Day, where children also give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

Seems that old adage about people “letting themselves go” after marriage is true.

Research out of the University of noth Carolina recently published in the journal, Obesity followed 6,949 U.S. adolescents into young adulthood and found that those who married were more than twice as likely to become obese than those who just kept dating.

It isn’t surprising that people put on weight once married. Instead of scarfing down a frozen lean cuisine before rushing out to meet your Monday night Singles’ Rock Cimbing club, once married, you’re more likely to sit down to a full meal together followed by a night infront of the TV, scarfing down a bag of potato chips while the svelte couple in your wedding portrait mocks you from the mantle piece.

Obviously this isn’t an issue for many couples – just more to love right? But, as wonderful as it is to love and accept each other no matter what. It seems to me many people use this as an excuse to stop loving themselves. And before you get on my case and think I’m implying that you can’t love yourself if you’re heavy or that you can’t love and accept someone else who’s heavy. I’m speaking more specifically about people who doen’t start marriage that way.

According to this study, controlling your weight in a relationship can be tough and even cause strain in the relationship. For example, if your partner is constantly brining home junk food when he or she knows you’re struggling with your weight it can make you feel resentful and upsupported. Or, in some cases, if one partner manages to lose weight and get in shape, the heavier partner can sometimes feel threatened and insecure. Asking a partner to lose weight will only make them feel defensive and ultimately less motivated anyway.

So what do you do? Simply accept it as part of married life? Obviously, we fall in love with a person, not their size but to deny tha part of what drew you to your partner was their physical appearance is naive. If their looks change significantly during your relationship or marriage, isn’t it also naive to think this won’t have an effect on your relationship?

I find this weight gain issue quite true because it happened to some people around me. Some of my friends have put on some weight since dating a new partner (of course those with a successful relationship). In Chinese culture, we say because the couple is filled with joy that’s why the weight comes along. If this happens to you or your partner, what will you do?

No body can keep in good shape forever. Years pass, people age and the faces grow old. So love the way your partner is and if the weight issue does happen, why not start a healthy diet and work-out plan together?!

What kind of qualities do you think “The Perfect Wife” should have? I just finished reading an interesting article on newspaper regarding this topic. This article is not some made-up point of views but some research group in Geneva actually done a research to conclude with these proven factors.

The research group collected information from 1074 pairs of couple whose ages between 19-75 years old and found out that “The Perfect Wife” should be of age 5 years younger than the husband, with similar background and smarter than the husband. They concluded that if a gentleman married a wife with the mentioned qualities, the chances of this couple having a very successful marriage would be 20% higher. Having said the above, they have given Queen Elizebeth II and her husband as an example of such case.

So, what kind of qualities do you think “The Perfect Husband” should have?